Krejci - Must be Czech for complete SNUB!

I'll caution you that with this blog posting that I've now used this space as both a therapy session and as a way to gain for myself some level of comfort given the unjustified & unexplainable SNUB of David "The Krej" Kreji by the NHL's All Star Weekend committee not once but twice this week... But before I completely go off the rails here (and oh boy, I will...) Let me first off offer my sincere congrats to Claude "King" Julian (& his entire coaching staff) on being named coach of the Eastern Conference squad which is well deserved and must be SWEET for him seeing how it's back up in Montreal! Nice irony huh!

I send props & sincere congrats also out to both Looch & Wheels for their being added to the YoungStars squad for All Star Weekend as well as both deserve to recognized as part the seemingly endless group of young and extremely talented players in today's NHL... BUT putting all that aside for a minute. I find it a crime to not recognize David Krejci in the same way given the way he's played so far this year as well as him being a key part of the NHL's most successful team thus far... What gives? I mean to not even be named to the YoungStars squad? WTF is that NONSENSE!? Also for the sake for full disclosure and so we're 100% straight, I'll acknowledge but will put aside my fully public "Man Love" for "The Krej" for at least a few here minutes... I totally understand and accept that certain things about these kinds of "All Star Events" have never & will never be fair. Things like roster spots going to the unworthy due to ASININE Fan Ballot stuffing (See: Habs Fans, Montreal) Already having other that are equally or even more so named to the squad which in this case would be Chara, Thomas & Savard (where's Kess btw!) & the fact most young players outside of the true superstars have to wait their turn which I agree & understand for the most part... So now that I've accepted all that and because I believe in my heart of hearts that Phil Kessel should be next in line from the B's to be named to the big squad anyways that The Krej won't be one this years Eastern squad... OK. But now they really kick him, the Bruins organization & his other fans right in the stones by not AT LEAST naming Krejci to the NHL "YoungStars" game roster! God...Someone please help me this one add up and explain to me how that can be justified!?! This non-selection is just plain STUPID & makes NO SENSE at all! WTF?! Why am I making such a big thing out of this for only a "YoungStars Game" you ask?! Because even if you haven't had the pleasure of watching The Krej play game in/game out this season, you need only to look at just the most basic of stats that he's posted so far and you'll see that as of this morning (1/11/09) that he friggin' DESERVES IT that's why! To this point. Through 42 games so far in the 08/09 Season, Krejci's stats sit at:

*16 Goals/30 Assists for 46 pts (2nd of the team & tied for 8th in the LEAGUE!)
*He's at a plus/minus of +25 (3rd on the team / 3rd in the whole NHL)
*His shooting percentage stands at 21.6% (1st on the team / 7th in the NHL)

Add in the fact that he's played a solid if not spectacular at times "whole" game this year (I.e.- at even strength, on both the PP & PK teams, in his own zone, the face off circle etc...) and that he's been the center (no pun intended) of one of the NHL's most productive lines this year, along side Michael Ryder & Blake Wheeler. All of whom by the way play on one of the leagues most successful teams this season, that's why! HELLOOOOOO...

Look it, I'm sure there's many other teams and many other different fans that can and would make just as strong an argument or "their guy" needing to be there and them being boned out of an invite too and to them I say - GET YOUR OWN BLOG! :-) Seriously though does anyone feel the need to argue these facts after looking at even his stats and tell me he doesn't AT LEAST deserve a "YoungStars" slot... Thought not!

So after all that I guess I now just need to get over it and console myself by remembering that HOCKEY is a truly a TEAM game (ain't that right Montreal? -yeah right!) and so with this I now officially move past this BLATANT SNUB & will get back to the BRUINS TEAM and it's success... However not unlike the "Governator of California" I reserve the future right to say "I'll be BACK!" if this BS happens to him again so be warned all!

Until then though thanks for reading, Let's Go Broounze! & Long Live the New King (Krej!!) -KingKrej46

B's NewsBlast! - Looch & Wheels are NHL All Game Weekend Bound as they're named to "YoungStars" Game!

Released from the NHL & NHL.com;
NEW YORK (Jan. 9, 2009) -- The high-scoring NHL sophomore class, led by Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals, Bryan Little of the Atlanta Thrashers and Devin Setoguchi of the San Jose Sharks, will face rookie goaltending phenom Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets and other top first-year players in a non-stop, wide-open game of three-on-three in the NHL YoungStars

Game presented by Upper Deck, Saturday, Jan. 24 at Montreal’s Bell Centre.
Showcasing the best of the League's young talent, the 10-player sophomore and rookie teams will face off as part of the 2009 Honda/NHL SuperSkills (7 p.m., ET, CBC, RDS, VERSUS). This marks the sixth consecutive YoungStars Game at All-Star Weekend and the first under the sophomores vs. rookies format.

The rookies will have to contend with a sophomore offense that features 2007-08 Calder Trophy runner-up Backstrom, who ranks second on the Capitals and 11th in NHL scoring with 45 points (12 goals, 33 assists); Little, who leads the Thrashers with 19 goals; and Setoguchi, who ranks second among Sharks in goals (18). Completing the talented sophomore lineup is 2008 YoungStars Game MVP Brandon Dubinsky of the New York Rangers, Milan Lucic of the Boston Bruins, Andrew Cogliano of the Edmonton Oilers and Mason Raymond of the Vancouver Canucks.

The sophomore defensemen are Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Marc Staal of the New York Rangers, each of whom competed as rookies in last year's YoungStars Game in Atlanta. The goaltender is Erik Ersberg of the Los Angeles Kings, the 26-year-old Sala, Sweden native who was not selected in his draft-eligibility years, signed as a free agent with the Kings in May, 2007 and has gone on to win a full-time place with the club.
The rookies will be backstopped by Mason, who has captured NHL Rookie of the Month honors for each of the past two months. He capped his December performance by posting a franchise-record three consecutive shutouts, becoming the first rookie netminder to do so since Detroit's Glenn Hall in 1955-56. Mason enters tonight's game at Washington with a 13-9-1 record, leads the League in goal-against average (1.82) and save percentage (.934), and is tied for the lead in shutouts (five)

Mason's defense pair are both top-five 2008 Entry Draft selections, 19-year-olds Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings and Luke Schenn of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Doughty, picked second overall, and Schenn, who went fifth, rank 1-2 among rookies in average ice time per game at 23:54 and 21:05, respectively.

The rookie offense will be led by three co-leaders in the rookie goal-scoring race with 13, Blake Wheeler of the Boston Bruins, Kris Versteeg of the Chicago Blackhawks and James Neal of the Dallas Stars. Rounding out the lineup is 2008 Entry Draft first overall selection Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Michael Frolik of the Florida Panthers, Mikkel Boedker of the Phoenix Coyotes and Patrik Berglund of the St. Louis Blues.

YoungStars players were selected by the NHL’s Hockey Operations Department and the NHL Players' Association. in consultation with League General Managers."

The full press release can also be found here: http://bruins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=403157

*Photo credit for the above goes out to the folks at bostonbruins.com as well!

Beantown Beatdown

HAHAHAHA!!!!! Where to begin? A complete and total BEAT DOWN of epic proportions last night. Score one for the good guys. Since I can't decide where to start, I'll start with that over rated, under performing head case of a soft, feeble minded goalie of theirs, Carey Priceless. This kid is a classic front-runner. Give him a lead and play great hockey in front of him, and he plays great. Score on him early and create traffic in front of him, and he folds up like a cheap pup tent. I've said it all along...I will never understand why Canadien fans are so in love with this kid (other than the fact they ordain EVERY young player as the second coming of ). Carey (isn't that a girls name? I'm just asking....), looked AWFUL on a few of the goals he allowed, starting with Thornton's. Granted, it was a pretty good play by Shawn, but come on....if you're supposed to be a sure fire Hall Of Famer, and shoe in Vezina winner, you just can't get deked that badly by a 4th line winger. On Sturm's PP goal at the end of the first, Price looked absolutely baffled as to what to do. He didn't know if he should sh*t or go blind. I've never seen a goalie do the little "happy feet dance" he did while Savard held the puck. He had NO CLUE how to react to that (psst, Mr. lead pipe lock HOF inductee...play the shooter, don't bounce back and forth between shot and pass. Moron).
But enough Price bashing....we could spend all day on that dope. I think what we're all thinking today is "ABOUT TIME!". About time Lucic got his chance to beat down that pansy Komisarik. That guy is so frustrating to watch it isn't even funny. He should be absolutely embarrassed and ashamed of himself. How can anyone constantly chirp, hack, slash, cross check and shove after the whistle......and have absolutely no intention of dropping the gloves? I'm sorry, but if you're going to play that way, you have to "man up" and answer the bell. For Montreal bench boss, and resident rat bastard, Guy "I'm going to wave my arms around like a lunatic every 5 minutes to try to get calls" Carbonneau to send out Georges laraque to try and handle Komipansy's issue's was beyond lame. Wasn't there a time when Canadien fans decried "goon hockey"? Well, I'm pretty sure sending out a 4th line stiff to fight the other teams top line winger counts as "goonism". Good on Looch for not falling for it. Wasting Gooch for five minutes for "BGL" doesn't make any sense for anyone. Lucic and "k(h)omo" would be a relatively "fair trade". Top D-man for a top winger. Never thought I'd see those two drop the gloves, but once the B's scored their fifth, I had some hope. And Milan never gave Komi a chance to back down. He cut him off on his way to the bench, and it was pretty clear that if he didn't drop the gloves, Looch was going to pound him anyway. Koisarek, as he usually does, tried to put on a show.....not really fight. He threw a couple early on, but as soon as Looch connected with the uppercut, it was game-set-match. He turtled like the little girl he is. Lucic's reaction after that bout was almost scary....the sheer primal scream was an obvious release of all the emotion and frustration he's had building up over that pansy for the last year. Good to see it finally happen. I'll be curious to see what, if any, reaction the Habs have next time they play. No doubt BGL tries to go after Lucic. Also no doubt that Komisarek doesn't try to avenge the beat down.

Speaking of BGL......I ranted yesterday about what a waste of a roster spot he is. And boy, did he not disappoint last night. The guys is useless, as is the entire 4th line for the Habs. Putting the Thornton-Yelle-Kobasew line out there against Dandenault-Lappierre-Laraque was an unfair mismatch on a huge scale. Not even a contest on who you'd rather have. Shoot, Boston's 4th line outscored all of Montreal lines combined. There will be a lot of soul searching in hab-land today. Or, more likely, finger pointing. The Rat has already thrown his players under the bus, saying "We had a game plan and no one followed it. And as a result, we lost, 6-1.". Way to go Guy. What a stand up dude you are.
Bottom line is, Montreal got absolutely STUNNED last night. They expected to cruise to an easy win, with Boston having played the night before. I think the eloquent, if math challenged, Alex Kovalev said it best: "One word we can say," said star Canadiens winger Alexei Kovalev. "We were not prepared for this."
Go B's- Kynch

Your First Place Boston Bruins

Yeah yeah yeah.....I know. It's only early November, and a LOT can (and surely will) happen between now and April. But still, doesn't that have a nice ring to it? "The first place Boston Bruins". I like it. They're also second in the Conference to the Rangers (who have played three more games than Boston, and with only a 4 point lead, if Boston wins those games in hand....#1 in the East!). Not bad at all for a team, amazingly, some picked to finish out of the playoffs this year. Congrats guys, now lets keep the momentum going. That and if he keeps playing physically, he'll make space for himself and his line mates. If he ever needed proof of that theory, all he had to do was see Buffalo physicality to their advantage. Savvy has never been known as a dump and chase guy. But as he said, with the way Last nights game at the Garden was a great one. Full house, Military Appreciation night....and an early end to the annoying "Lets go buff-a-lo" chants. Manny Fernandez put in a good nights work. Looked a little shaky on the Sabres goal. He was a bit deep in his net on that one, but he played very well after that. And to be fair, he didn't get much help on that goal. It was pretty much an uncontested shot from close range, so I won't beat him up on that one. If he plays like that consistently, I have no problem (other than his huge price tag) with him spelling Thomas occasionally. But the real story of this game, the absolute force on the ice. The guy that you just couldn't help but notice shift after shift was Lucic. No points, but may have been his best "Milan Lucic" effort of the year. He was a wrecking ball all night. Cam Neely is on record as trying to explain to Looch Defenseman Henrik Tallinder bail out of an easy icing touch up. Tallinder had Lucic beat by a MILE to touch up an icing. But instead of going to the end boards to make the touch, he inexplicably went to the front of the net. Conceding the puck to Lucic. Obviously, Tallinder knew he was going to get punished for making the touch, and wanted no part of it. THAT is what being a constant physical presence can do for you. Marc Savard was quoted in the paper today as saying he's learning to change his style of play, to use Lucic's crashes into corners and wins one on one battles, he knows now all he has to do is get it close to him, and he's probably going to get it back. And if Looch's reputation continues to make guys take the easy way out like Tallinder did, all the better. He'll have uncontested plays out of the corners all night. Tallinder should be embarrassed for being so soft, but I guess that's easy for me to say from the comfort of my seat in the stands. I've been eagerly awaiting seeing a Lucic fight this year, but all the "blame" for his lack of fights thus far can't be put on a lack of willingness. Yet again last night, he offered an opponent to "go" and the invite was cordially declined. This time it was Adam Mair, who had obviously seen enough out of Milan to know that he wanted no part of him. If you look closely enough, you can see this kid's legend grow before your eyes. Even beyond Milan, the game had a certain amount of "spice" to it. It got chippy early, with Sturm and Afinaginov (or however you spell it) exchanging hacks, slashes and shoves at the face off dot. Chucky Kobasew looked ready to play from the outset, offering to drop the gloves with Derek Roy. Patrick Kaleta tried stirring the pot a bit on a couple occasions for the Sabres, but was HAMMERED with a punch to the nose by Chara. That effectively ended that agitator's efforts at provoking the big man, and the rest of the B's (too bad the NESN camera's didn't catch that exchange, because Z really did throw a dandy of a shot at him). I give the refs credit for letting the boys play. There were a ton of "scuffles" behind the play, especially around the benches during changes, and they never blew the whistle. They let the linesmen break it up, but let play continue. Granted, I'd have rather seen the linesmen stay out of it too to see if anything developed, but hey. At least they let the game continue to "flow". Bottom line is, that was another "big win" for the Black & Gold. They enter a very busy stretch of games starting next week in Chicago (followed the next night at home against a certain hated French Canadian team....thanks schedule makers). Every point is valuable. It would be nice to go into the final weeks of the season and worrying about playoff "positioning", not whether they'll make the playoffs at all. That's why this good start is so important. They're finally building in a little buffer for when they do hit the rough spots and injuries that are inevitable. So enjoy this win guys, but be ready for a talented Chicago team on Wednesday. As much as we're all looking forward to Thursday night vs the Habs, the players must stay focused on one game at a time. Handle your business in Chicago, and we'll be here waiting to help you through the battles Thursday night. Go B's- Kynch

The face of shame

As much as I hate to pollute this site with images of cowardly, chickenshit low lifes, I thought putting a face to Steve Ott was worthwhile. This is what a disgraceful player looks like. This is the face of the "New NHL", where you can cheap shot, yap and do whatever you want, and not have to answer for your actions. "Back in the day", had Ott done anything like what he did Saturday at the Garden, he would have been pummeled. Now, with the instigator rules and all that, players have to "ask" for his cooperation, or face ejection and possible suspension. Thornton got a big break only getting the double minor for roughing when he went after Ott (or "Brave Steve" as Jack Edwards so aptly called him). Ott never dropped his stick or gloves. Shane Hnidy tried to engage Ott later on, and again Ott declined. I don't care which side of the fighting debate you're on, you can't tell me you watched his antics the other night and DIDN'T want someone to pound him.

If you aren't convinced that the Ott and Avery show is a pathetic embarrassment, all you need to see are their TEAMMATES comments. Here's a quote from Mike Modano immediately after the game: "Tonight it seemed to be idiotic," said Stars alternate captain Mike Modano of his team's identity. "It's stupid. It's one of the more embarrassing things I have seen, on the ice and involved with the fans. In 20 years, I haven't seen anything like it. If that's what we're going for, maybe I need to find myself an office job."
Those are comments Modano, a Captain, was willing to make to the press. What do you think the conversations were like in private? No way players like Modano, Morrow, Robidas and to a lesser extent, even the likes of Kris Barch can be too happy with these two. Barch had to fight Thornton because of all the bad blood Avery & Ott stirred up. And poor Matt Niskanen got absolutely hammered by Shane Hnidy because of a brawl touched off by yet another cheap shot from Avery.
When your own teammates start calling your actions embarrassing, maybe it's time to reconsider your tactics. But I think we all know these two jackasses will never change. The question is, will they end some one's career with a cheap shot before all is said and done?
Kynch